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Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

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Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To an approximation, the entire user interface and everything about how it worked. Edit: A more wordy response, since I assume the downvote implies that wasn't satisfying -- It has all the key elements - video chat, screen sharing, whiteboarding, etc., but they've all been arranged in such a different way that it's just impossible to single anything out in particular. The best I could do is explain it by analogy: Mos…

well, that doesn't tell anything.

You have to keep in mind, if they aren’t a UI designer, then aren’t trained to pinpoint they key factors of an interface that make it different. They just know one feels better than the other.

IMO this is where UX often goes wrong, many people have a feeling for something but they don’t have the terminology to articulate it, nor the skills to reproduce it another context.

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#162
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go on a gap year when you can backpack around the world. This is literally the worst time to have a gap year. If you're stuck at home you might as well study.

You can study without paying tens of thousands of dollars. There are also tons of productive uses of time that can be done during the pandemic. Now is a great time to volunteer.

Only you can afford to do something like that or are bankrolled by someone else. I couldn't afford being away from my only source of income at school (student loans) for a year when I was going to school, I would literally be homeless without it. Add on that it's very difficult to get a job to support yourself right now and full time students are not eligible for unemployment. That's not even considering the risks you take academically by taking a year off.

The "just take a gap year" crew are living on a different planet than me. No, a different universe. How do you afford to eat and have a roof over your head while you're learning python from Wikipedia full time?

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That applies to inbound freshman, but for students going into their sophomore-to-senior years, who are already accepted, taking a year off seems like a no-brainer.

I believe you can defer commitment as a freshman.

Depends on the school at this point. One I know usually allows incoming freshmen to defer until April or May or something like that. When they later put out very draconian restrictions for the fall (they're allowing freshmen on campus but basically locking students in their rooms), it took a fairly major revolt from parents and alumni to make them relent.

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#164

A couple of years ago, I was looking into MOOCs for tech education, Udacity's nano degree in particular. I remember stumbling across a video on Youtube where some Udacity folks were discussing the merits of online education with college professors and admins. What stood out to me was how vehemently the college folks were against online education. They were visibly livid - there was no way substituting a live class ro…

Except "embracing" is definitely not the right word. Very few professors I know are happy about this whole situation. Universities are begrudgingly accepting the fact that they can't have in-person classes, so they have to turn to online alternatives. Tuition can't be changed because the few costs that are being saved (facilities still need maintenance) are offset by the massive losses in revenue from student housing…

It seems like an educational instituion relying on income from real estate properties points to the greater issue here: General lack of funding for education.

Making money off housing will disproportionately affect students of differing income backgrounds, so this is not the same as moving that cost to tuition fees.

Schools shouldn't have to run themselves like a traditional business, yet that is exactly the model most are forced to follow in order to survive.

Edit: "shouldn't" not "should"

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#165
post #77

A couple of years ago, I was looking into MOOCs for tech education, Udacity's nano degree in particular. I remember stumbling across a video on Youtube where some Udacity folks were discussing the merits of online education with college professors and admins. What stood out to me was how vehemently the college folks were against online education. They were visibly livid - there was no way substituting a live class ro…

Go on a gap year when you can backpack around the world. This is literally the worst time to have a gap year. If you're stuck at home you might as well study.

Backpacking doesn't have to mean exotic locales. There may be some bucket list activities that are closer to home, eg: Trans Canada Trail, Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Camino de Santiago, etc.

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except "embracing" is definitely not the right word. Very few professors I know are happy about this whole situation. Universities are begrudgingly accepting the fact that they can't have in-person classes, so they have to turn to online alternatives. Tuition can't be changed because the few costs that are being saved (facilities still need maintenance) are offset by the massive losses in revenue from student housing…

It seems like an educational instituion relying on income from real estate properties points to the greater issue here: General lack of funding for education. Making money off housing will disproportionately affect students of differing income backgrounds, so this is not the same as moving that cost to tuition fees. Schools shouldn't have to run themselves like a traditional business, yet that is exactly the model mo…

What do you mean they lack funding? They are probably the single most well funded areas of our country with guaranteed student loans from the government.

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you're stuck at home you might as well study. Exactly. It's a good opportunity for self directed study. I would spend time doing something productive, not traveling.

Traveling can be incredibly productive; they aren’t mutually exclusive.

The problem is that traveling is very challenging right now. It's a lousy situation. Paying for a year of school is a lousy option right now, a typical gap year with travel/activities is tough, and employment options are very limited. I guess if I were an incoming senior, I'd do my best to wrap things up and get a diploma this year--one school I know is basically letting only seniors among undergrads back on campus in the fall with the message to wrap up whatever they need to do in-person to graduate and plan to be online in the spring. For anyone else, if I were in a position to deal with it financially, I'd take a year off and spend it as usefully/enjoyably as I could.

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#169
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tuition should drop by 50% anyway. The same schools were able to deliver the same services at that price 30 years ago. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/29/how-much-college-tuition-has...

Tuition costs are ridiculously inflated, and I'd love to see them come down, but "the same thing used to be cheaper" is an argument that doesn't work in any other field. I'd rather see a discussion of the inflation-adjusted rate of increase, or perhaps some other appropriately adjusted metric; tuition numbers would still look terrible, so there's no need to weaken one's argument this way.

That is inflation adjusted. Note "with all figures adjusted to reflect 2017 dollars"

Re: Online classes are not worth cost of full tuition

#170
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, half your paycheck goes to the government and European tech salaries are nearly half that of the US. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

I mean I lived in both ca and ny and the tax rate is pretty close to European ones. When I lived in Switzerland just the federal rate was higher than my Swiss tax rate. The big difference in total compensation after tax between Western Europe and USA is in the compensation part for people that are considered highly skilled. For example for me I get at least 2x here in CA compared to what I would get in Norway and Swi…

Does your calculus include the VAT, which is both a higher rate and a broader base (includes services)?
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